Numbers 5
1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
The Lord told Moses,
2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.
“Order the Israelites to expel from the camp anyone who has a skin disease, or who has a discharge, or who is unclean from touching a dead body.
3 You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”
Whether male or female, you must expel them so they won't make their camp unclean, for that is where I live with them.”
4 So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.
The Israelites followed these instructions, and expelled such people from the camp. They did what the Lord had told Moses they should do.
5 And the LORD said to Moses,
The Lord told Moses,
6 “Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty
“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning against someone else, they are guilty
7 and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged.
and must confess their sin. They have to pay the full amount of compensation plus one fifth of its value, and give this to the person they have wronged.
8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him.
However, if that person doesn't have a relative who can be paid the compensation, it belongs to the Lord and shall be given to the priest, together with a sacrificial ram by which the guilty person is set right.
9 Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him.
All holy offerings that the Israelites bring to the priest belong to him.
10 Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.”
Your holy offerings belong to you, but once you give them to the priest they belong to him.”
11 Then the LORD said to Moses,
The Lord told Moses,
12 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him
“Tell the Israelites that these are the instructions to follow if a man's wife has an affair, being unfaithful to him
13 by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act),
by sleeping with someone else. It may be that her husband doesn't find out and her unclean act wasn't witnessed—she wasn't caught out.
14 and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself—
But if her husband becomes jealous and suspicious of his wife, whether she's guilty or not,
15 then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity.
he is to take her before the priest. He is also to take with him on her behalf an offering of one tenth of an ephath of barley flour. He must also bring for her an offering of an ephah of barley flour. He's not to pour olive oil over it or put frankincense on it, since it's a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to remind people about sin.
16 The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD.
The priest is to lead the wife forward and have her stand before the Lord.
17 Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water.
Then he shall fill a clay jar with holy water in a clay jar and sprinkle on it some dust from the floor of the Tabernacle.
18 After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.
Once the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall let her hair loose and have her hold the reminder grain offering—the grain offering used in cases of jealousy. The priest shall hold the bitter water that curses.
19 And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse.
He shall place the woman under oath and tell her, ‘If no one else has slept with you and you have not been unfaithful and become unclean while married to your husband, may you not be harmed by this bitter water that curses.
20 But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’—
But if you have been unfaithful while married to your husband and have become unclean and have had sex with someone else…”
21 and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell.
(Here the priest shall place the woman under the oath of the curse as follows.) “May the Lord place a curse on you that everyone knows about by having your thighs shrink and your belly swell up.
22 May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’
May this water that curses go into your stomach and make your belly swell up and your thighs shrink.” The woman is to answer, “I agree, I agree.”
23 And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.
The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water.
24 He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause her bitter suffering.
He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that curses, and it will cause her bitter pain if she is guilty.
25 The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.
The priest shall take back from her the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord, and take it to the altar.
26 Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water.
Then the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as a reminder portion and burn it on the altar, and make the woman drink the water.
27 When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people.
After he has made her drink the water, if she has made herself unclean and has been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that curses will cause her bitter pain. Her belly will swell up and her thighs will shrink. She will become a cursed woman among her people.
28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.
But if the woman has not made herself unclean by being unfaithful and is clean, she will not experience this punishment and she will still be able to have children.
29 This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,
This is the rule to follow in cases of jealousy when a wife has an affair and makes herself unclean while married to her husband,
30 or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law.
or when a husband starts feeling jealous and becomes suspicious of his wife. He shall have his wife stand before the Lord, and the priest is to carry out every part of this rule.
31 The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”
If she is found guilty, her husband will not be held responsible. But the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.
